Penn State’s Dean, Bartlett, Van Ness finish off NCAA Wrestling Championships with wins

Nate Cobler
·6 min read
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Saturday morning saw Penn State secure its 11th NCAA wrestling title, and the 10th under Cael Sanderson.

The Nittany Lions have now won 10 of the last 12 NCAA Championships.

Max Dean, Beau Bartlett and Shayne Van Ness all closed out their tournaments by collecting NCAA medals.

Five others — Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Levi Haines (157), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) — go for NCAA titles on Saturday night.

Here’s a look at how the Nittany Lions’ wrestlers fared in the medal round of the NCAA Championships:

Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young hand fights with Arizona State’s Michael McGee in their 133-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bravo-Young topped McGee, 6-4, in sudden victory.
Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young hand fights with Arizona State’s Michael McGee in their 133-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bravo-Young topped McGee, 6-4, in sudden victory.

Roman Bravo-Young, 133 pounds

Record for tournament: 4-0

Current round: Finals

Recap: The two-time champion will defend his crown for the second straight year, but not against Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix. Instead, he’ll face Cornell’s Vito Arujau.

Friday night RBY collected his 100th career victory in a Penn State singlet. Earlier Friday, he became the Nittany Lions’ second five-time All-American with Nick Lee.

Penn State’s Beau Bartlett controls North Carolina’s Lachlan McNeil in their 141-pound consolation finals match of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bartlett beat McNeil, 4-2, to finish third.
Penn State’s Beau Bartlett controls North Carolina’s Lachlan McNeil in their 141-pound consolation finals match of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bartlett beat McNeil, 4-2, to finish third.

Beau Bartlett, 141 pounds

Record for tournament: 5-1

Finish: 3rd

Recap: Bartlett opened his day by taking on South Dakota State’s Clay Carlson, who he beat in the second round on Thursday evening, 3-2.

The junior improved leaps and bounds from that Thursday evening match to the the tune of a 12-3 major decision over Carlson. Bartlett had four takedowns — two alone in the first period, and nearly pinned Carlson in the third period. The win also clinched the team title for the Nittany Lions.

In the consolation finals, Bartlett took on North Carolina’s Lachlan McNeil, who was his high school teammate at Wyoming Seminary for two years.

Bartlett trailed his former teammate 1-0 after two periods of wrestling. He flipped the switch in the third period to pull out a 4-1 win.

The junior opened with an escape 12 seconds into the period. About one minute later, he took McNeil down and had a riding time point added for the final score.

Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness controls Arizona State’s Kyle Parco in their 149-pound consolation finals match of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Van Ness beat Parco, 7-2, to finish third.
Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness controls Arizona State’s Kyle Parco in their 149-pound consolation finals match of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Van Ness beat Parco, 7-2, to finish third.

Shayne Van Ness, 149 pounds

Record for tournament: 5-1

Finish: 3rd

Recap: Van Ness had a tough one in his consolation semifinals against Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson. Henson was the No. 4 seed, but Van Ness proved he can hang with the best.

The redshirt freshman appeared to be more awake Saturday morning as opposed to the first two days of the tournament as he wasn’t immediately down in his opening day match. Instead, he and Henson battled to a scoreless first period.

Henson opened the second with an escape, but Van Ness collected a takedown about 30 seconds later. Henson did escape to tie it again, heading to the third period.

Van Ness recorded an escape to start the third period, and added a last second takedown to secure a 5-3 win.

He took on Arizona State’s Kyle Parco for third. Van Ness dominated in the consolation finals bout too.

He recorded the first points with an impressive shin whizzer that acted like a headlock on Parco late in the first period. Parco’s escape in the second period was the lone point scored.

Then, Van Ness poured it on in the third period with two takedowns and an escape for a 7-2 victory.

Penn State’s Levi Haines controls Nebraska’s Peyton Robb in their 157-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Haines beat Robb, 5-3.
Penn State’s Levi Haines controls Nebraska’s Peyton Robb in their 157-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Haines beat Robb, 5-3.

Levi Haines, 157 pounds

Record for tournament: 4-0

Current round: Finals

Recap: Haines will look to become the 17th true freshman to win a NCAA title.

He faces North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor in Saturday night’s finals.

Penn State’s Carter Starocci controls Cornell’s Chris Foca in their 174-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Starocci shut out Foca, 6-0, to make the finals.
Penn State’s Carter Starocci controls Cornell’s Chris Foca in their 174-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Starocci shut out Foca, 6-0, to make the finals.

Carter Starocci, 174 pounds

Record for tournament: 4-0

Current round: Finals

Recap: Starocci, like RBY, will look to defend his crown for a second time, but it won’t be against Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis. Instead, Starocci gets another familiar foe in Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola.

“He likes to come forward and wrestle, which I appreciate, but I believe the more guys want to wrestle me,” Starocci explained of the finals matchup Friday night, “it makes it worse for them, but he’s a tough kid, strong, hard nosed. He’s going to come at me like a bull for 7 straight minutes. I’m looking forward to that and looking forward to getting my third Natty Daddy.”

Starocci beat Labriola in the Big Ten finals two weeks ago, 6-1.

Penn State’s Aaron Brooks controls North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay in their 184-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Brooks took care of Hidlay, 6-3.
Penn State’s Aaron Brooks controls North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay in their 184-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Brooks took care of Hidlay, 6-3.

Aaron Brooks, 184 pounds

Record for tournament: 4-0

Current round: Finals

Recap: Brooks faces Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen in the finals Saturday night.

The two have a history with one another.

Brooks beat Keckeisen in the 2021 NCAA Championships, 6-4. Then, he beat the Panthers’ wrestler 3-2 in the 2021 Journeyman Collegiate Duals match.

This year, Brooks dispatched Keckeisen, 12-8, in the NWCA All Star Classic.

Penn State’s Max Dean looks for an opening on Cornell’s Jacob Cardenas in their 197-pound seventh place match of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Dean defeated Cardenas, 4-2, to finish seventh.
Penn State’s Max Dean looks for an opening on Cornell’s Jacob Cardenas in their 197-pound seventh place match of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Dean defeated Cardenas, 4-2, to finish seventh.

Max Dean, 197 pounds

Record for tournament: 5-2

Finish: 7th

Recap: Dean had quite the storybook ending to his collegiate career as he faced off with Jacob Cardenas, who wrestled for Dean’s previous school in Cornell, for seventh place.

Cardenas put Dean behind early with a quick takedown to open the bout. The Nittany Lion escaped about 25 seconds later, and collected a takedown of his own to hold a 3-2 lead after one period of wrestling.

Dean’s escape in the second period was the lone point. Cardenas didn’t want to go under Dean, so he choose neutral to start the third period. Neither wrestler could find an opening to score, and Dean came away with a 4-2 victory.

Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet hangs on to Air Force’s Wyatt Hendrickson in their 285-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Kerkvliet made the finals with a 4-2 win.
Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet hangs on to Air Force’s Wyatt Hendrickson in their 285-pound semifinals match of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Kerkvliet made the finals with a 4-2 win.

Greg Kerkvliet, 285 pounds

Record for tournament: 4-0

Current round: Finals

Recap: Kerkvliet gets Michigan’s Mason Parris in the finals. They pair have faced off six times in their careers.

They each have beaten each other three times. However, Parris has won the last two — the dual, 3-1, and the Big Ten finals, 5-3, in sudden victory.

The last win for Kerkvliet against Parris was last year’s consolation semifinals of the NCAA Championships in Detroit.

NCAA Championships

Saturday at Tulsa, Okla.

Team key: Air Force (AF), American (A), Appalachian State (AS), Arizona State (ASU), Army West Point (AWP), Binghamton (BT), Bloomsburg (BB), Bucknell (B), Buffalo (BF), Cal Poly (CP), Campbell (C), Central Michigan (CM), Chattanooga (CT), Clarion (CL), Cleveland State (CS), Columbia (CB), Cornell (CN), CSU Bakersfield (CSB), Drexel (DX), Duke (D), Edinboro (E), Gardner-Webb (GW), George Mason (GM), Harvard (HV), Hofstra (H), Illinois (Ill.), Indiana (Ind.), Iowa (I), Iowa State (ISU), Kent State (K), Lehigh (L), Lock Haven (LH), Maryland (M), Michigan (Mich.), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (Minn.), Missouri (Miss.), Navy (N), NC State (NCSU), Nebraska (Neb.), North Carolina (UNC), North Dakota State (NDSU), Northern Colorado (NC), Northern Illinois (NIU), Northern Iowa (NI), Northwestern (NW), Ohio (O), Ohio State (OSU), Oklahoma (OU), Oklahoma State (OKSU), Oregon State (ORSU), Penn State (PSU), Pennsylvania (Penn.), Pittsburgh (Pitt.), Princeton (PT), Purdue (P), Rider (R), Rutgers (RU), SIU Edwardsville (SIUE), South Dakota State (SDSU), Stanford (S), Utah Valley (U), Virginia (V), Virginia Tech (VT), West Virginia (WV), Wisconsin (W), Wyoming (WY)

Team scores: 1. Penn State 127.5, 2. Iowa 82.5, 3. Ohio State 70.5, 4. Cornell 68.5, 5. Missouri 60.5, 6. Arizona State 55, 7. Michigan 54.5, 8. Nebraska 54, 9. Virginia Tech 49, 10. North Carolina State 48

Consolation Finals

141: Beau Bartlett, PSU, dec. Lachlan McNeil, UNC, 4-1; 149: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, dec. Kyle Parco, ASU, 7-2

7th Place Match

197: Max Dean, PSU, dec. Jacob Cardenas, CN, 4-2

Consolation Semifinals

141: Bartlett, PSU, major dec. Clay Carlson, SDSU, 12-3; 149: Van Ness, PSU, dec. Caleb Henson, VT, 5-3